Turn your customers into raving fans

There's no better advertisement for your business than customers who are raving fans. Best of all, this kind of marketing is free. An unbiased recommendation from a customer can send you a stream of new ones. So how can you turn your customers into walking and talking billboards for your business?

1. Go above and beyond

When it comes to providing a service, over-deliver and you'll be remembered. Even if you are selling a product, the way you deliver that product can make all the difference. Go the extra mile and do something unexpected for the customer.

I recently engaged a contractor to hang a tracking system on the ceiling of my office/training room from which we can hang artwork. He did a great job but, more importantly, he went the extra mile. He noticed there were a couple of small cracks in the plasterwork, filled them and sanded them. He didn't charge extra, he just didn't want people to notice the cracks in the wall instead of the pictures. "I can't help it," he said. "I'm a perfectionist."

2. Personalise your serviceIt can be hard to keep track of customers especially if you have a fairly generic business and lots of casual staff who come and go. That's where a robust customer database can go some way in keeping track of your most precious assets - your customers.

You may not be in a position where you have face to face interaction with your customers but if you have a good customer relationship system, you can track their buying patterns or preferences.

This is something that your staff can be trained in, so it's not as if you have to be there to operate it. A good customer relationship system can provide you with valuable information and you can tailor your marketing campaigns to customers with specific needs or preferences.

However, you don't even need to be this high-tech. You can even personalise your service the old-fashioned way. A handwritten note of thanks enclosed with a product that's been sent to a customer can be a good start.

3. Is competent service enough?Sometimes, your business and staff may offer a competent service, but that may not be enough. My friend recently dealt with a solicitor who did a great job technically. But she found their service to be cold and arrogant. The paralegal who dealt with her was rude and obnoxious. Even though their legal advice was very good, she doesn't want to deal with them again.

Unless you have a monopoly in your field, you can't rely simply on competent service to drive your business forward. If you don't offer a compelling reason to stay, customers can just go somewhere else.

What do you do to turn your customers into raving fans?

Posted
by Valerie KhooOctober 1, 2007 11:48 AM

LATEST COMMENTS

Treating customers right is something one is supposed to follow through ones' life, not only just trest your customers right but your uncles, aunts, parents, boss, friends, neighbours, and classmates. So this is not something one should single out to say that just because I am now in business so i will be starting to go artra mile to treat customers right? These kinds people will say "screw you" when the customers did not end up with referrals in response.

I feel this is the bone of someone when comes to customers's service. You can go to business school and be told to treat customers right but if it is only for the purpose of trying to get more business then it will not work well. As a decent humban being, we should treat others nice in the first place this has to be the message to anyone whether you are in business or not.